Coil handling apparatus



0ct. 13, 1942. F. z. YFOUSE-` y conI HANDLINGAPPARATUS Filed Aug. 2:5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l com HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 2s, C31940 '2 sheets-shane 2] y 2 l 11 5@ A -ZZ f ,.f/ 28 J3 y J9 xx 4 i J3 1.5 l .5-

` Q Z7 J0 INVENTOR Heder/KZ Foa/'se Patented ct. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COIL HANDLING APPARATUS Frederick z. reuse, Weinen, W. va..

Application August 23, 1940, Serial No. 353,870

6 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to coil handling apparatus and more particularly to unooilers of the type embodying coil supporting heads which are movable toward and away from each other into and out of supporting engagement with a coil positioned therebetween by means of a movable saddle or by some other suitable mechanism.

In the rolling mill art coils of hot and cold rolled strip are produced which have to be delivered to cold rolling mills for cold processing or to various other parts of the mill where the coils are otherwise processed. The strip has to be uncoiled and consequently appropriate supporting apparatus must be provided for supporting the coil during the uncoiling operation. At times the coils delivered from the mills are not truly circular in shape and the edges of the various turns of the coils are not properly aligned. Consequently, the coil supporting apparatus should be of such character that it will not injure the strip and will eliminate the elliptical shape of the coil and cause the material to be delivered uniformly from the coil. The uncoilers which have been used heretoforesatisfactorily eliminate the elliptical shape of the coils but diiiiculty has been encountered by virtue of the fact that the coils are supported on the uncoiling mechanism by an endwise pressure exerted on the edges of the coil turns. It will be apparent that this method of supporting the coils is objectionable because certain portions of the coil may support substantially the entire weight thereof. Where this condition exists the turns of the coil bearing the greater portion of the Weight thereof are bent or otherwise damaged by the supporting mechanism. Furthermore, even though the edges of the coil are relatively uniform, the last few turns of the coil are frequently damaged due to the fact that the holding mechanism exerts a substantial pressure on the edges thereof.

By my invention I provide coil handling apparatus which obviates the diflculties mentioned above and which is relatively cheap to manufacture and which can be utilized for the handling of coils of any length or diameter.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustration only a preferred embodiment of my invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of apparatus embodying my invention, the coil positioned thereon being shown in section;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through one of the heads of the apparatus which I provide;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 except that the parts are shown in the positions which they assume when a coil is supported between the heads;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of one of the heads shown in Figure 1, the supportingshaft being shown in section;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of one of the heads shown in Figure l;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of one of the heads Vshown in Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of one of the heads shown in Figure l with the -nose plate removed; f

Figure 8 is a section taken along the line VIII- VIII of Figure 2';

Figure 9 is a section taken along the line IX- IX of Figure 6; and

Figure 10 is a plan View of one of the movable segments embodied in the head which I provide.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings there is provided a supporting frame 2 which is of such construction as to'provide ways or guides for the 'supporting stands 3. A pair of screw threaded shafts 4 are journaled in the frame 2. Each shaft 4 is in threaded engagement with one of the stands 3. These shafts are appropriately driven for moving the stands 3 toward and away from each other. A coil supporting trunnion or shaft 5 is journaled in each of the stands 3 and a head indicated generally by the reference character 6 is mounted on each shaft. A coil supporting saddle I is located beneath and between the heads 6. This saddle is vertically movable by a piston 8 operated by a cylinder 9. This apparatus is used for raising the coil to be uncoiled to appropriate position where it can be engaged and supported by the heads 6 and is lowered out of contact with the coil as soon as the coil supporting heads have been moved to the position shown in Figure 1.

As the two heads 6 are identical in construction, only one will be described herein.

The shaft or trunnion'5 of each head 6 has an enlarged end portion IIJ. This end portion supports the mechanism which comes in Contact with and supports the coil C. A sleeve II is mounted on the enlarged portion IU of the shaft 5 and is keyed thereto by means of a key I2 so that it cannot rotate relative to the shaft 5. The sleeve I I is held in position on the shaft by a flange I3 which is integral with the shaft. 'I'his sleeve II is provided with a plurality of slots I4 which dedrawings, is provided with four of these slotted sections which are uniformly spaced around the periphery of the sleeve.

Each segment I5 comprises a body portion I6 which is approximately the same width as the cooperating slot in the sleeve, an upwardly extending bearing portion II near the rear end thereof and an upwardly and laterally extending portion I8 near the front end thereof. When the segments are in normal position on the sleeve these latter portions I3 are located adjacent the front end of the head and are the parts which engage the inner surface of the coil for supporting it. The segments I5 are held on the sleeve II by a nose plate I3, a face plate 20, and a ring 2l, The face plate 2l] is circular and has a large central opening permitting it to encircle the segments when in position on the sleeve. The rear face of the face plate bears against bronze liners 22 which are secured by screws 23 to the front face of the rear raised portion II of each of the segments. The rear face of the face plate is provided with a plurality of holes 2li adapted to receive dowel pins 25 which extend into similar holes 26 in fillers 2 which are positioned between the segments around the periphery of the sleeve and between the face plate and the ring 2|. The rear face of the face plate 22 is also provided with threaded holes adapted to receive screws 23 which extend through holes 23 in the fillers 21 and through holes in the ring 2i. These screws 28 are preferably countersunk socket head cap screws and are utilized to hold the parts mentioned above together in appropriate position.

The ring 2I is circular and is provided with a large centrally disposed opening 30 so that it will fit around the sleeve and the segments mounted thereon. The face plate 2D, ring 2I and fillers 21 constitute a composite housing ring surrounding the segments I5 and receiving the bearing portions Il' thereof. The ring 2| is also angular in shape and has a portion 3I which extends forwardly over the raised rear portions of the segments and abuts the rear face of the face plate 2S, The radially extending portion of the ring abuts liners 32 which are mounted on the rear face of the upwardly extending portion of each segment. These liner plates 32 are held in position by screws 33. The liner plates 32 and 22 are preferably of bronze and are located between the rear raised portion of each segment and the ring 2| and the face plate 2l) in view of the fact that the segments are moved radially as well as axially during the axial movement of the face plate and the ring and these bronze liners are desirable to take care of any wear which may occur by virtue of this relative movement between the segments and the face plate and ring.

A bronze liner 34 is secured to the bottom of each segment I5 and bears against the sleeve. These liner plates are desirable in order to take care of the wear occasioned by the relative movement between the segments and the sleeve.

The nose plate IS is provided at the front end of the head in order to maintain the segments and the cooperating ring and face plate on the sleeve II. The nose plate I9 is secured to the front end of the sleeve II by means of socket head cap screws il and it is provided with a threaded hole 35 for receiving a jack screw for removing the sleeve from the shaft. The nose plate I9 is provided with beveled edges 35 which are beveled outwardly so as to center the coil as the heads 6 are moved into position and to cause the coil to contact the face plate 20 on each head.

The face plate 23 is provided with vertically extending openings 31 to receive springs 38. The body portion of each segment is provided with shallow holes 33 to receive the lower ends of the springs 38, These springs are held in position in the face plate and the segments by pipe plugs 4B. These springs 37 are normally compressed to some extent in order to hold the segments in their advanced position against the nose plate I9. As the segments are moved axially of the shaft 5 in a manner to be described, these springs 38 are compressed due to the radial movement of the segments and, consequently, when the pressure causing the rearward axial movement of the parts is released, these springs will tend to force apart the face plate and the segments, and the segments will be moved forwardly along the sleeve.

Due to the fact that there is relative movement between the sleeve II and the segments I5, appropriate provision is made for lubricating this portion of the head. Appropriate provision is also made for lubricating the bearings between the segments and the ring and the face plate. Oil openings 42 are provided in the horizontally extending portion of the ring and oil holes 43 and 43 are provided in the segments and these holes extend through the bronze liners 22, 32 and 34 so as to permit oil to pass to the area between the Various movable parts.

In operation, the coil C is placed on the saddle 'I and the saddle raised so that the central opening in the coil is in approximate alignment with the nose plates I9 on the heads. The stands 3 are then moved toward each other and the nose plates I9 enter the coil The stands are moved toward each other to such an extent that the ends of the coil come in contact with the face plates 20, At this time the parts are in the position illustrated in Figure 2. The stands 3 are moved closer together so that there will be pressure engagement between the ends of the coil C and the face plates 2S. As the heads 6 are moved forwardly toward each other, the face plates 20, the rings 2l and the segments I5 are moved axially of the supporting shafts and the segments are at the same time moved radially and the portions I8 thereof are brought into contact with the inner surface of the coil so as to support it. When the heads have been moved toward each other to this extent, the parts are in the position shown in Figures l and 3. Thereafter the saddle l is lowered and the coil is in position to be uncoiled.

It will be apparent from what has been stated above that in the apparatus which I provide the coil is supported interiorly and not by the edges thereof and that consequently there is little or no chance of the edges of any of the turns of the coil being injured during the uncoiling operation. It will also be evident to those skilled in this art that the device which I provide can be manufactured economically and that it will operate entirely satisfactorily and in such way as to cause the strip to be delivered uniformly from the coil.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited thereby and that my invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rotatable head for supporting a coil com..

prising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, segments slidable on sloping seats formed in said support whereby said segments move radially of said support when moved axially thereof, said segments having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly, said segments also having bearing portions projecting radially thereof, a fixed-diameter annulus engaging said bearing portions and adapted to engage the end of the coil and thereby arrest said segments as said support is moved toward the coil, and means carried by said annulus exerting a yielding inward pressure radially on said segments.

2. A rotatable head for supporting a coil comprising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, segments slidable on sloping seats formed in said support whereby said segments move radially of said support when moved axially thereof, said segments having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly,

said segments also having bearing portions projecting radially thereof, radial compression springs bearing on said segments, and means mounting said springs exteriorly of said segments, said means bearing on the radially projecting portions of the segments and being adapted to engage and be arrested by the end of a coil, whereby said springs oppose outward movement of said segments when arrested on movement of the head toward a coil.

3. A rotatable head for supporting a coil comprising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, segments slidable on sloping seats formed in said support whereby said segments move radially of said support when moved axially thereof, said segments having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly, said segment also having bearing portions projecting radially thereof, whereby said segments are arrested on movement of the head toward a coil, and a xed-diameter annulus adjacent said bearing portions mounting radial springs exerting an inward pressure on said segments.

4. A rotatable head for supporting a coil comprising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, segments slidable on sloping seats formed in said support whereby said segments move radially of said support when moved axially thereof, said segments having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly, said segments also having bearing portions projecting radially thereof, a face plate engaging said bearing portions and adapted to engage the end of a coil, thereby arresting said segments as the head is moved toward the coil, and radial` compression springs carried by said face plate urging said segments inwardly.

5. A rotatable head for supporting a coil comprising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, segments slidable on sloping seats formed in said support wherebs said segments move radially of said support when moved axially thereof, said segments having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly, said segments also having bearing portions projecting radially thereof, a housing ring surrounding said segments and having recesses into which said bearing portions extend, and springs on said ring urging said segments inwardly.

6. A rotatable head for supporting a coil comprising a rotatable support movable toward and from a coil to be supported, said support including a sleeve mounted on a rotatable shaft, said sleeve having longitudinal slots in the exterior thereof, the bottoms of all said slots being similarly inclined to the axis of the sleeve, segments slidable in said slots and having portions engaging the bottoms thereof, said segments also having portions adapted to engage a coil interiorly and bearing portions projecting radially, a housing ring engaging said bearing portions and adapted to engage the end of a coil, and springs in said ring bearing on said segments whereby said springs oppose outward movement of said segments when arrested on engagement of a coil end by said ring.

FREDERICK Z. FOUSE. 

